VergiftungvsVerhaftungConfusable pair

Which to use

“Vergiftung” and “Verhaftung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,947
“Vergiftung” frequency rank
#10,961
“Verhaftung” frequency rank
33908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vergiftung Verhaftung
Definition körperliche Schädigung durch Einnahme von Gift Vollzug eines Haftbefehls, Führung in Polizeigewahrsam

Where the eye mixes Vergiftung and Verhaftung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Vergiftung and Verhaftung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
Vergiftung
10 ch
Verhaftung

Look-alike desk: Vergiftung vs Verhaftung

A purely visual mix-up. Vergiftung ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡɪftʊŋ]) and Verhaftung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vergiftung is recorded at frequency rank #22,947, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɪftʊŋ]. Verhaftung is at rank #10,961, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 33908, this pair ranks #1,675,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vergiftung vs Verhaftung

Shared letters: efgnrtuv. Private to "Vergiftung": i. Private to "Verhaftung": ah.

"Vergiftung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Verhaftung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vergiftung ← evrgiftung · vegriftung · vergfitung · verggiftung · vergifftung · vergiftnug · vergifttung · vergiftugn
  • Verhaftung ← evrhaftung · vehraftung · verahftung · verhafftung · verhaftnug · verhafttung · verhaftugn · verhaftungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vergiftung" and "Verhaftung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡɪftʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Vergiftung" or "Verhaftung" show up more?
"Verhaftung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,961 in our German list, against #22,947 for "Vergiftung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Vergiftung" and "Verhaftung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vergiftung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verhaftung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,675,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vergiftung" and "Verhaftung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergiftung vs Vergiftungen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,675,367 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list